A variety of craft products have been developed over the years for recreational and educational purposes. These craft products have come in unlimited shapes, forms, and materials. One common example is a "pipecleaner." The pipecleaner comprises a piece of flexible wire in which tufted fabric is twisted. The pipecleaner may be used in craft projects and for educational purposes by bending the product to form different shapes and forms.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,148,632 to Lovejoy ("Lovejoy") discloses a flexible strand which may be used to form line drawing pictures of animated objects. The Lovejoy flexible strand may be black or colored thread, string, wire, or chain, or any combination of the above. In Lovejoy, the flexible strand is placed on a background which is covered with a film of oil, glue, or any adhesive material adapted to hold the strand thereon.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,537 to Borisof ("Borisof") discloses a flexible elongate member which may also be used to form letters, figures, and designs. The Borisof elongate member comprises a length of cord, yarn, wire, or line which is impregnated or coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive material. The adhesive material is a microcrystalline wax with mineral oil in the proportion of 2 to 12% mixed with the microcrystalline wax. In Borisof, the elongate member may be adhered to itself or to paper, cardboard, or any other suitable supporting material.
These prior craft products have several shortcomings. For example, all of the prior craft products are manufactured in specific lengths. Thus, if it is desired to use a length other than the manufactured length, the product must be divided into smaller pieces. However, these craft products are made of materials which do not divide easily and must be cut into smaller pieces using additional tools. The use of such additional tools creates a potential safety concern since children use these craft products and are thus exposed to potentially dangerous tools such as scissors. The wax craft product of the present invention overcomes this problem because it can be easily divided into smaller pieces simply by manually breaking the product or by pulling in opposite directions on the ends.
Furthermore, once the prior craft products are cut into smaller pieces, they cannot be put back together to form the original piece. The wax craft product of the present invention also overcomes this problem because it can be easily rejoined into a single piece by placing two of the ends together and manually exerting finger pressure thereon.
Another shortcoming of prior craft products concerns the ability to adhere to themselves and to other surfaces. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wax craft product comprises a rod of wax having a specifically textured surface. The textured surface results in a greater surface area of the rod of wax coming into contact with other surfaces. The direct consequence of this increased surface area contact is better adhesion with other surfaces.
Additionally, a specific shortcoming of certain of the prior craft products is that they contain oil. As a result, these products feel oily when touched and may leave a residue when they come into contact with other surfaces. The wax craft product of the present invention does not contain oil and thus does not have these problems.